The carriage drove steadily through the nighttime streets of the royal capital, the wheels rolling over the cobblestone road with a soft sound.
Outside the window, the lights on both sides of the street gradually thinned as they traveled from the bustling central district to the quiet noble villa district.
Ailiya leaned by the window, her silver-white short hair appearing and disappearing in the shadows cast by the curtain.
Her ice-blue eyes occasionally turned to the lonely moon outside the window, and occasionally fell on the blond boy with his head lowered across from her.
‘This kid.’
He had been keeping his head down since getting in the carriage, his hands resting on his knees.
He didn’t speak, didn’t look up, just sat there sullenly.
This was a trick he had used countless times.
Acting deep, acting pitiful, trying to win sympathy. Every time he got beaten badly in training, he would put on that “I can’t do this anymore” act.
Anyway, it was all the same. Before long, he would jump up again, full of energy, keep being stubborn, and keep charging forward like a clueless rookie.
Ailiya silently reached that conclusion in her mind, then looked away.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that she was here again, wasting time with this brat.
‘What the hell am I doing?’
‘Why do I indulge him over and over again?’
‘Just because he can be a way to pass the time, or a tool to farm experience anytime, anywhere?’
But this kind of indulgence sometimes really annoyed her.
She didn’t need to pay him any attention, didn’t need to help him up in the crowd, didn’t need to walk through the crowd after the sparring session, and certainly didn’t need to wait for him to speak in this carriage.
‘Just for that bit of experience?’
Leo’s voice came from across, lower than usual.
“…Ailiya.”
When he said this, there was no crying in his voice, no deliberate softening of the tone—just a flat, matter-of-fact statement, as if stating a fact he had already accepted.
He still didn’t look up, just stared at his own hands.
His clothes were dusty, and his knuckles had scrapes from the earlier close combat, slowly healing but still reddish.
“I feel like a complete waste.”
His tone wasn’t deliberately trying to gain sympathy—just pure, tired self-deprecation.
Ailiya withdrew her gaze from the moon and turned to him.
He still kept his head down, his golden bangs covering most of his face, his expression unreadable.
She looked at him for a few seconds, then slowly spoke.
“Please have a little more faith in yourself, Young Master.”
Leo abruptly raised his head, his eyes brightening in the dim carriage.
He opened his mouth as if to say something. A thought of ‘Are you actually comforting me?’ hadn’t even rolled out of his throat—
“You really are.”
Those four words fell without warning, like a basin of ice water, dousing the small flame that had just ignited in Leo.
He froze, mouth open, expression frozen in midair.
After several seconds, he slowly closed his mouth and lowered his head again.
“Alright, I really am.”
The air grew quiet again.
Both of them turned their gaze out the window or stared at some nonexistent point in the carriage, deliberately avoiding each other’s eyes.
Leo didn’t speak again, and neither did Ailiya.
After a while, so long that Leo thought she wouldn’t speak again,
“But… if you ignore that Second-tier Swordsman of the Swift Wind School, with your current level, you’re already good enough to handle ordinary noble kids.”
Leo looked up, his eyes showing a hint of confusion and wavering.
“So, occasionally look back at the road you’ve traveled. Don’t always fixate on places you can’t reach.”
This time, Leo’s eyes didn’t brighten like before. He just quietly looked at her, as if confirming whether she had really said that.
His Adam’s apple moved as his mind raced.
‘Could it be… she’s actually praising me this time? Or comforting me? She actually said something like that to me?’
Ailiya still gazed out the window, not looking at him, as if just speaking to a window.
After a moment, she turned her head slightly, cast a glance at him, and said in a tone that carried an unaccustomed tentativeness.
“I’m not good at saying things like this, but… does it make you feel better when I say it like this?”
Leo looked at her and was silent for a long while.
Then he suddenly let out a laugh, the corners of his mouth lifting into a slight curve.
“…You’d better stop talking. I’ll just digest it myself.”
Ailiya didn’t reply.
The carriage continued forward, passing a quiet path lined with laurel trees, and finally stopped in front of the villa.
Leo stood up, straightened his dusty attire, rubbed his face, then pushed open the carriage door and jumped out.
He didn’t look back at Ailiya, but his steps were much steadier than when he got in the carriage.
At the main entrance of the villa, two warm yellow magic crystal lamps glowed quietly, casting light on two elderly figures on the steps.
Butler Carlisle and Butler Fitch stood side by side, clearly having waited for some time.
Leo walked up, nodded to the two old men, then asked with some confusion,
“Where is Mother?”
Fitch bowed slightly.
“Madame went out just a while ago. She said she had matters to attend to and asked you and Miss Ailiya to have dinner first, no need to wait for her.”
Leo frowned, wanting to ask something but holding back.
He just nodded, said, “Understood,” then turned and walked toward the foyer.
The two butlers followed behind, one on each side, their figures casting two long shadows under the porch light.
Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous alley in the Western District of the royal capital, a figure was craning his neck and looking around, like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time, afraid of getting lost.
Balke, carrying his signature broad blade greatsword, his burly frame seemed especially cramped in the narrow alley.
He looked at the back of the figure in the dark diviner’s robe ahead, held it in as long as he could, then finally couldn’t help it.
“Sid, where exactly are we going? We’ve been walking around half the royal capital for almost two and a half hours. Is that diviner gathering you mentioned really in an alley like this?”
“Of course not here.”
Sid, walking ahead, didn’t turn her head, her steps light.
Balke took a deep breath. If not for the camaraderie of adventurers, he would have turned back right now.
The alley came to an end. The evening breeze blew, bringing moist mist and the scent of flowers and grass by the shore.
Suddenly, a sparkling lake appeared before them. Balke was taken aback.
“…This is?”
“Seqin Lake.”
Sid finally stopped and turned around.
Her hood was blown off by the evening breeze, revealing a face with a sly smile.
“The most famous scenic spot in the royal capital. It’s said that in the evening and at night, you often see people who like each other walking side by side or rowing boats on the lake. The view is beautiful, isn’t it?”
As she spoke, she lifted her chin toward the lakeshore.
Balke followed her gaze.
On the stone path by the lake, there were indeed scattered figures.
Some walked side by side, talking quietly; some sat on benches, close together, staring at the lake.
The evening breeze stirred the branches, and the lights shattered into a flowing patch of light on the water.
It really was a place suitable for a certain kind of atmosphere.
He shook his head violently and coughed loudly.
“Just look at the scenery, drop all that liking nonsense. If we’re going to walk, then walk. Stop dawdling!”
Without waiting for Sid’s reply, he strode out along the lakeshore.
Sid followed behind him, her gaze falling on his hand gripping the sword hilt with extra force, and couldn’t help the curl of her lips.
She didn’t call him out, just quickened her steps to catch up, and the two walked side by side along the lakeside path, chatting off and on.
They did see some people.
An old man leaning on a cane sat alone on a bench, staring at the lake.
A few young people in Academy uniforms leaned on the railing, holding notebooks, apparently arguing about some magic formula.
There were also some figures walking side by side, very close, shoulders almost touching, occasionally letting out a soft laugh.
Balke’s gaze swept over these figures with a casual observation, until his eyes fell on two people under a weeping willow not far ahead, and he couldn’t help but pause.
It was a woman holding an umbrella.
It wasn’t raining, yet she still held an ornate, delicate umbrella with dark red thorn rose embroidery on the edge, almost blending into the shadows in the night.
Only occasionally, when passing under a magic crystal lamp, could those embroideries be seen glinting faintly in the dim light.
The umbrella covered most of her face, revealing only an elegantly shaped jaw and a hint of lip color, as if deliberately hiding herself in the night.
Not far in front of her stood a man with slightly graying hair.
His attire was out of place for this lakeside park—a sharp black outfit cut to fit, with a thin cloak over it.
But his stance and the hands hanging at his sides exuded a particular steadiness.
His build didn’t appear weak; rather, the sharp outfit accentuated a straightness unrelated to age.
The two stood a few steps apart, as if conversing about something, or just standing side by side, each looking at the lake.
They maintained a subtle distance—not close, but not like strangers.
Balke couldn’t help muttering,
“What’s up with those two? Holding an umbrella and wearing masks at night, dressed like they’re not out for a stroll, just standing there without saying a word. Creepy.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but in the quiet night on the lakeshore, it happened to drift with the wind.
The two almost simultaneously turned their heads slightly.
Two distinctly styled masks turned toward the direction of the voice in the night.
One was a rose mask carved with dark red patterns, revealing an elegantly shaped jaw and a faintly colored mouth, with a few feathers on the edge shimmering in the light.
The other covered the left half of the face, revealing one calm and sharp eye.
Balke was taken aback, realizing his muttering had been overheard.
Just then, Sid stepped in front of him, bowed slightly, and said with just the right amount of apology.
“I’m very sorry. My friend isn’t good with words. We’ve disturbed your enjoyment of the scenery. We’ll leave now.”
After saying that, she straightened up, grabbed Balke’s sleeve, and unhesitatingly pulled him to keep moving, her steps much quicker than before.
Balke was pulled over a dozen steps before lowering his voice to ask,
“What’s wrong? Do you know them?”
“I don’t know them.”
Sid answered quickly without turning her head.
“Then why are you running?”
“Because if I didn’t pull you away, you might have been remembered by them.”
Sid’s tone was still light, but her pace didn’t slow at all.
“When out and about, less trouble, less being remembered, live longer. Haven’t I taught you that, Big Boss?”
She added another sentence, her voice light,
“Besides, aren’t you hungry? I can smell grilled meat from the street ahead.”
As soon as he heard about food, Balke’s attention was immediately diverted.
“There’s grilled meat around here? Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Watching his back, Sid let out a sigh of relief and followed his pace.
The two gradually walked away along the lakeshore, soon disappearing into the lights of the street corner.
***
Meanwhile, under the weeping willow behind them, the woman holding the thorn rose umbrella had already withdrawn her gaze and looked back at the lake.
After a moment, she said something.
Muffled by the mask, her voice was somewhat indistinct, but one could still tell it ended with a slight upward inflection.
The man beside her didn’t answer, just nodded slightly.
Then the two also walked slowly along the lakeshore in the opposite direction, soon merging into the night.
Late night gradually descended, and the visitors by the lake dispersed.
Sid held the temporarily lusterless crystal ball in her palms and sighed softly.
“Sigh, still couldn’t find out anything useful. I wonder if she will blame me…”
Balke didn’t understand the second half, but hearing the first half, immediately puffed out his chest, stepped forward, and slapped Sid’s back with a hearty palm.
“Cheer up! Are you having some problems? With me here, what are you afraid of!”
That slap was full of force.
Sid’s hood was knocked off by his slap, and the balance between her palms was instantly broken. The divination crystal ball tumbled through the air twice, flashed a weak but dangerous blue light, then fell straight toward the ground.
Sid lunged forward in a bow stance and caught the ball less than two inches from the ground.
She slowly straightened up, a gentle smile on her face, but her tone was ice-cold.
“…Big Boss, if that had shattered, I would have sold your sword as scrap metal.”
Balke stepped back repeatedly, hiding his broad blade greatsword behind him, his face full of panic and guilt at having done something wrong.
He cursed himself out in his mind, but didn’t know how to apologize, so he just stood there dryly, scratching the back of his head with an ingratiating smile.
Sid sighed heavily, carefully stowed the cleaned crystal ball into her robe, and walked toward the exit of the lakeside.
Balke froze for a moment, then hurriedly followed in large strides, sticking close behind her.
The two disappeared into the deepening night.
At the Kastian Villa, the living room lights were still on.
Ailiya sat on a single sofa by the window in the first-floor living room.
The fire in the fireplace had passed its peak, now only a layer of dark red embers remained, glowing faintly in the night.
From the end of the corridor came the sound of the front door opening and closing.
After a moment, the unhurried sound of high heels stepping over the threshold crossed the foyer and stopped at the entrance of the living room.
“Welcome back, Madame.”
But Ailiya didn’t stand up, just turned her head slightly, her gaze falling on the figure at the door.
Elsa stood at the entrance of the living room, still wearing a dark cloak with edges damp from the night dew.
She met Ailiya’s gaze.
After a brief silence, she took off her cloak and draped it over her arm, then walked into the living room.
She didn’t sit down immediately, just stood by the coffee table, looking down at Ailiya with a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
“Judging by your expression, it looks like you were specifically waiting for me to come back.”